News for Silver Jubilee

In this second installment of Getting to Know Us, the self-serving, Sub Pop Silver Jubilee Festival-promoting column in which we talk about some of the world class artists who are playing our (free (to you)) birthday party taking place on Saturday, July 13th in Seattle’s esteemed Georgetown Neighborhood. This week, we would like to show you about the majestic J Mascis and the enigmatic Shabazz Palaces.

Chances are that if you know who we are (just to clarify, we’re the t-shirt and record manufacturer, Sub Pop), you are already well aware of who J Mascis is. As one of the shreddiest forces on the planet and singer of the pioneering band Dinosaur Jr., J has been creating some of the noisiest and most wonderful (in this blog poster’s opinion, at least) music for the better part of like, 15 decades or so. He’s also been involved with J Mascis + The Fog, Witch, Deep Wound, Upsidedown Cross, Sweet Apple, and most importantly (for the sake of this Silver Jubilee related blog post, at least), simply J Mascis. J’s most recent solo record, Several Shades of Why, came out on Sub Pop in 2011 to much critical acclaim, and quickly became a favorite among the staff at Sub Pop. In case you missed that record, here’s a link to the video for “Not Enough”, created by J’s labelmate, Chad VanGaalen.

Shabazz Palaces are an enigmatic hip-hop duo, bucking every trend in the modern rap game (take for example them signing with a record label not at all known for putting out hip hop records). They’re led by Palaceer Lazaro, also known as Ishmael Butler, a member of the pioneering 90’s rap group, Digable Planets and are rounded off with the multi-instrumental brilliance of Tendai Maraire. Shabazz Palaces’ debut full-length, Black Up, was released in 2011 amidst a frenzy of excitement and hype and according to universal critical acclaim, well exceeded the hype in its delivery. In case you needed proof of their prowess, we’ve attached a video for their song “Are You… Were You… Can You… (Felt)” off of Black Up.

Perhaps it feels a little desperate to attempt to sell you on an altogether FREEMUSICFESTIVAL put on by a record label representing such historically and presently great artists, we wouldn’t be Sub Pop Records (and t-shirts!) if we weren’t trying to sell you something. So, on July 13th, we hope you’ll join us at the Sub Pop Silver Jubilee however you can and watch these three artists do their thing.For free.

As you may or may not have been previously aware, Sub Pop’s years of consecutive business operations without going out of business reached the 25 year milestone on April 1st, 2013, and to celebrate ourselves, we are throwing an altogether free event on Saturday, July 13th in Seattle’s historic Georgetown neighborhood featuring live music from the Sub Pop universe as well as other types of attractions to attract you, the potential free concert goer, to the aforementioned date and time to celebrate us with us.

In an effort to familiarize/refamiliarize you with the bands that make up our truly magnificent lineup for the event, each week, we will bring to you Getting to Know Us, a column highlighting a Sub Pop artist or two playing our Jubilee. This week, we’re starting with Endino’s Earthworm featuring legendary producer, Jack Endino, and Brothers of the Sonic Cloth, featuring Tad Doyle.

Jack Endino and Sub Pop go way back, him having produced many Sub Pop releases, including Nirvana’s culture-shifting record, Bleach, and us having released many of those records. Endino’s Earthworm are not surprisingly from Seattle, WA, and as an a proper sonic introduction, take a listen to “Count Me Out” from Endino’s 2005 record, Permanent Fatal Error, recorded live at The Tractor Tavern in Seattle. Now, imagine that same wonderful thing, but set outside on a beautiful sunny Seattle day in July—now that’s good livin’.

In honor of our 25th anniversary year, we at Sub Pop Records will be hosting an altogether free event, which we’re calling The Silver Jubilee, to be held July 13, 2013 in Seattle’s historic Georgetown neighborhood. Along and surrounding Airport Way, we are fairly certain there will be some combination of… Actual live bands, playing actual live music! Some sort of art-related something or other! Like, in a gallery space, we’re thinking! A record fair-type event! Food! Beer and wine! (The food and beer and wine and soda or whatever, you will have to pay for! These parts are not free!) Good times and opportunities to embarrass yourself and those who’d always hoped for better for you! Plus, bands!

Preceding the The Silver Jubilee, on April 20th (Record Store Day! 4/20: something-something about weed!) we will release Sub Pop 1000, a limited-edition compilation of what we feel are some of today’s most vital artists from around the world. Sub Pop 1000 is comprised entirely of unreleased and exclusive tracks. It will be available digitally and in a vinyl pressing of 5,000 copies, on some dazzling color of vinyl that we have yet to figure out. The vinyl will include an 11″×11″ booklet and an MP3 download coupon. Sub Pop 1000 was inspired by our landmark 1986 compilation, Sub Pop 100, which championed artists such as Sonic Youth, Wipers and the U-Men. Please find a full tracklist for Sub Pop 1000 below.